The Gatorade Company and ESPN Rise has named Wade Meddles (Sr., Sierra Lutheran High) and Kelsey Smith (Sr., South Lake Tahoe) Gatorade Players of the Year for Nevada.
Smith won the 3A/4A Regionals and the Nevada State Meet with the fastest time of the day. Her PR in the 5K is 18:15. This is Kelsey's 3rd time winning the Gatorade Player of the Year award for Cross Country.
Meddles won the Nevada Jim Vanden Heuvel Twighlight SX Classic and the Nike Cross SW Regionals. Meddles also placed 3rd at the Mt. Sac Invitational, 2nd at the Foot Locker West Regionals and 3rd at Foot Locker Nationals. His fly and die approach to running races helped him with his win at the Nike Cross SW Regionals but in the final 200 meters of Foot Locker West he ran out of steam and placed second in the event. Meddles ran a more conservative race at Foot Locker Nationals and it worked for him as he ran to an impressive 3rd place finish.
Gatorade has been honoring athletes for 25 years with an award recognizing athletic excellence as well as high academic achievement and community service.